


Estimations

by sunshineboy1981



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Gen, Omega Spencer Reid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-24
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:16:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24766816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunshineboy1981/pseuds/sunshineboy1981
Summary: Spencer Reid had spent his entire life being underestimated.Yes I know this fandom is dead but my SPIRIT ISN'T
Relationships: Spencer Reid & The BAU Team
Comments: 5
Kudos: 223





	Estimations

**Author's Note:**

> Mostly world building, I plan to just write more in this series but I need to lay down some framework. This is all s1 or so, the next will probably be Hankel and all that.

Spencer Reid had spent his entire life being underestimated. From birth, his mother doted on him. Her boy was different and precious; he didn't like sports or outdoors like other boys, he liked to study and read and snuggle. 

Since he could remember, Spencer's mother lavished on how special he was, it didn't take long for him to decode what laid beneath the word "special".

_"He is special, he reads all the time. So smart."_

_"He's so special, so he doesn't play outside."_

_"My boy in sports? He's too special to be placed on a field, he'd get run over by the other kids!"_

By the time he started school he knew that _special_ was just her way of calling him weak, fragile.

He wasn't treated normal so he never acted normal - or maybe it was the other way around... All he knew was that he was too small and too smart and he never fit in, especially when he started high school at age 8.

All the reasons his mother claimed made him shine were thrown in his face with all kinds of mean words and sometimes shoves. In high school, everyone else was presented too, so there were Alphas throwing him into lockers and Omegas pushing him around. Some people would even mock flirting with him - a child - for laughs. The bullying only escalated as he progressed through the years.

When his father left them it almost cemented the idea that he wasn't ever going to be a normal kid. He was put into the role of caregiver for his mother as she struggled and fell apart, when she picked herself up and when she was a good mother and when she was completely comatose. He loved his mother with all his heart, but things were going downhill fast.

* * *

Whenever Spencer mentioned becoming a police officer, maybe a detective, people rolled their eyes. After presenting Omega - a male Omega is just another reason he's special - his freshman year at Caltech, he only seemed to be considered less capable. He could quote the entire police handbook, read out every federal law to exist, explain every one of his favorite cases and how they were caught but the fact remained - Omegas didn't do police work.

In the process of collecting PHDs, he also collected plenty of opinions about his career aspirations.

_"But you're so smart, you don't need to be out doing dangerous stuff!"_

_""You're too smart for that, maybe desk work would be best for you."_

_"Why would somebody so smart want to go into such a violent field?"_

Smart became the brand new "special". 

He knew that he wasn't all muscle like most imagined of the police, he couldn't growl or bark orders like the Alphas on the force and he absolutley didn't intimidate. Spencer was not an Alpha, but he knew he couldn't possibly be as useless as his classmates all estimated. 

Jason Gideon was just the ticket to prove that. Got him interviewed and tested and in FBI training with one of his closest friends, a Beta named Ethan. The first day, everybody was placing bets that one would make it and one wouldn't. They would have been right, if only they hadn't underestimated the scrawny male Omega with fluffy hair.

* * *

"Who's the pretty boy?" A smooth voice echoed across the bullpen. Spencer's back straightened and he almost curled into Gideon's side (likely would have without the training) as a tall, honestly _gorgeous_ Alpha approached. 

"SSA Derek Morgan," Gideon's voice is even as he announced and named the other man. "Meet Dr. Spencer Reid."

Morgan walked within scenting distance and his entire face fell. 

"I'm sorry," the Alpha shook his head. "I didn't mean that name as anything like that... it was the hair."

Spencer observed Morgan's outstretched hand, hesitant to deny in fear of showing bad faith.

"It isn't a problem, " he tried to explain. "Though I don't shake hands, with the amount of bacterial transfer it's practically safer to kiss."

Morgan backed up, looking confused but intrigued. A smile spread across his face, highlighting his attractive features as he put his hands up in mock surrender. 

"All right," the man chuckled. "Welcome to the team, pretty boy. "

Spencer laughed, already feeling safer with a small sign of familiarity. He tucked some of his hair behind his ear and followed the other agent into the conference room, wondering how "pretty boy" could be less derogatory than "smart". 

Maybe it was the way he said it, laughing and making small talk - reminding Spencer that they were peers and equals. Maybe it was the context, conforting after a bad case or bantering. Maybe it was just that Morgan was quickly becoming Spencer's best friend. A fraternal bond formed faster than any bond had come to Spencer before.

He grew close to a Beta named Elle as well, they stuck together as the lowest in rank. The team leader, an Alpha named Aaron Hotchner, was strict but caring towards the team.

Soon enough, another Omega was added to the team. Penelope Garcia was enthusiastic and sweet - and the moment she learned Spencer's age she babied him. He was her "boy wonder", "boy genius" and any other thing she could call him to remind the kid that she was older and protective. Spencer's parents were both Betas, so it was new and oddly comforting to have an Omega parental figure in his life.

Even with his pack around him, though, Reid knew the expectations were lower for him. It wasn't difficult to know why they all estimated he would be weak. A scrawny male Omega who hardly raised his voice an could barely shoot a gun - he was the weakest link, barely qualified to work in the field. The only respect he got from cops was based in the fact he was a doctor. 

He had to prove that he could do his job in the midst of every case. Pressure followed him at every turn. 

If they wanted to make estimations, he had to prove that they were too low.


End file.
